Young Memories
by kungfupandaprodigy
Summary: Po sits under the peach tree wondering why Tigress is so mean to him after he becomes Dragon Warrior. What happens when the topic of his thoughts comes along. Happens the day that Po became Dragon Warrior.


**Young Memories**

Po sat with his back against the peach tree, a peach in his paw. He was mulling over the events that had happened after he had become the Dragon Warrior. He had been shunned as much as possible by the other warriors. His idol, Tigress, the leader of the Furious Five, had completely ridiculed him. He took a necklace with a heart carved into it from his pocket and held onto it. Tigress had given it to him at the Bau Gu Orphanage. Those were the nice memories. It seemed that Tigress had completely forgotten about what he had done for her and was just angry that he had _taken _her title as the Dragon Warrior. It was an accident, and he hadn't even meant to ruin the ceremony. He was just trying to watch. As he was reliving his memories of the Bau Gu Orphanage, he heard footsteps behind him. He looked behind him and saw Master Oogway coming up the stairs leading to the Peach Tree. Master Oogway saw him with his mouth full of peaches and mentioned, "I see you have found the _Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom_."

Po, embarrassed, apologized, "Oh. I am so sorry. I thought it was a regular peach tree." Oogway replied, "No, it is okay. You eat when you are upset. So, why are you upset?"

Po sighed and dejectedly answered, "I hadn't meant to land in the way of your finger. It was an accide-." Oogway interrupted him, "There are no accidents. Now, go on." Po continued, "Now, the five hate me, and Tigress completely ridicules me. She said that I don't belong here. She's right. Maybe I should just quit and go back to noodle making."

"Quit don't quit. Noodles, don't noodles. There is a saying: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." With that, Oogway took a peach for himself and made his way back down the stairs. As Po was thinking about what Oogway had said, he heard another pair of feet making their way up the stairs to the peach tree.

"What are you doing here?" He immediately recognized the bitter voice of Tigress. He had had enough of her ridiculing, so he replied with his own irritated voice. "What do you want?" he bitterly replied, not turning around to make eye contact.

"What do I want!? What do I want!? I just want you to get the hell out of here because you don't belong here! You stole the title of Dragon Warrior from me! You and your lazy attitude don't have a place in _this _palace. You and your fat belly should just go back to noodle-making," she fumed at him.

He was deeply hurt, but managed to reply in his own sour tone. "I didn't steal the title from you! All I wanted to do was watch the ceremony! I didn't know I would fall in front of Oogway's finger! It wasn't my fault! And as for me, my laziness, and my belly, I'm not going anywhere! All that I've wanted to show people is that I can be a hero even though all that they've done is make fun of me!" His voice softened, "I'm the type that always forgives, but it's hard to forgive you after what I did for you." At this, Tigress raised her eyebrows as if questioning what he did for her. He answered, "Remember the Bau Gu Orphanage Master Tigress? You were called a monster by everyone. Remember?" She just stared ahead blankly, as if she was trying to find out what he was talking about. "Maybe this will help you remember." Po placed the necklace he was holding into her paw and made his way back to the barracks, leaving Tigress to herself. She looked at the necklace for a second before tracing her finger over the heart carved into it. At that moment, of that day at the Bau Gu Orphanage flooded her mind.

_A young, sullen Tigress sat on the rock hard bed in her cell. She was crying because the caretaker had announced that a man and his son would be coming to play with the children and give them the best noodles in all of China. She had hoped she would also get to have some fun, but instead the caretaker locked her inside her cell fearing that she would do something that would ruin the whole arrangement. As she thought about all the kids having fun at his moment, she heard a knock at the door. She ignored it, not even bothering to look at the door. Whoever had knocked opened the door anyways and she heard a childish voice say, "H-hello." Without looking back to see who it was, she yelled, "Go away! I'm a monster. A monster no one likes."_

"_You're not a monster. You're just a tiger."_

_Now she turned around and saw a concerned panda looking at her with a bowl of soup in his hands. "I am a tiger with claws and fangs and I scare everyone. I'm a monster."_

"_No, you're not. A tiger isn't a tiger without claws and fangs. What does everyone expect? For you to have hooves?" She half-heartedly laughed and managed to ask the panda who he was. She hadn't seen him at the orphanage before. _

"_Oh, I'm the son of the noodle-maker who is playing with the other kids. I heard the head of the orphanage talking to my father about a dangerous tiger that stays in this cell, so I came to give you some soup. And my name is Po. What's yours?"_

"_My name is Tigress. Did you really bring that soup for... me?"_

"_Yes. Here, have it," Po held out the bowl of soup towards her which she gratefully accepted._

"_Thank you for the soup. Do you want to... play with me?" She knew he was probably scared of her and just came to give her the soup because someone had told him to. But his answer surprised her. "Sure, let's play some checkers." He ran out and came back with a checkers board. She was very happy that someone saw beneath her physical features. They played for a while before he had to leave. Before he left, she hugged him, thanking him for being nice to her. He blushed and said, "No problem. I'll come back next week if you want to play again." She nodded her head viciously and he chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."_

_The next week, he came and stayed with her for the whole day. They had a great time. She had a friend and someone who cared for her. He even brought her something every week he came. She was especially grateful for the pillow and sheets he brought so that she didn't have to sleep on the rock-hard bed. One week when he came, she made him a necklace and carved a heart on it with her claw. Po would visit her every week until she left the orphanage with Master Shifu. _

Now, as Tigress sat under the tree, the memories washed over her. She completely regretted what she had done to Po when he became the Dragon Warrior. He had been her only friend and the first person to accept her. Instead, she had ridiculed him and hurt his feelings. She looked over the necklace and traced her finger over the heart one more time before placing the necklace in her pocket and making her way back to her room. She would set things right with Po, and she would do it soon.

**End**

**Do you guys want me to make a sequel in which she apologizes? Mention it in the reviews if you do. **


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